My working space
“This space is my environment: the office is where I spend most of my time, surrounded by people who appreciate and love me, where I do things and deal with things I am really fond of..”
History and architecture
The office occupies a portion of the building adjacent to the monumental entrance of the industrial “Lanifici Rivetti”. This enormous complex of buildings was built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. The huge entrance gates now stand between Via della Repubblica n. 8, and Via Carso on the ridge dominating the right side of the river Cervo. In 1886 Giuseppe Rivetti moved here and progressively expanded the textile activity he had started in Valle Mosso in 1872.
The activity grew so rapidly that the wool mills became one of the historical enterprises in Biella. Already by 1922 three thousand people were employed, giving prestige and economic well-being to the territory.
Starting from the early 60s the activity stopped and its spaces were progressively abandoned.
“In those years, as a child, I remember that I played there all kinds of games and sports. Little could I have imagined that in the future I would work here”. The current meeting room of the office still maintains the characteristic beamed structure of the ceiling and the “industrial” style that characterized the place. On April 20th, 1993, part of the still existing buildings – including the one where the office is – were declared of historical and cultural interest by the Superintendent’s order transcribed to the “Agenzia del Territorio” on March 6th, 1995.
